1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an apparatus for wrapping an infant or toddler so as to facilitate the carrying of the infant or toddler by an adult.
2. The Prior Art
Currently, there exist many different types of carrying baskets, infant-carrying packs and carrying frames in the market. Though such products are useful and convenient for some parents in carrying their infant or toddler, such devices can be disadvantageous in that carrying baskets and carrying frames (i.e., child-carriers resembling baskets mounted on a backpacking frame) can be bulky to carry or store, while infant-carrying packs often use complex systems of straps and snap buckles to mount the child on the back or chest of an adult. Also, while such apparatuses are designed to carry infants or toddlers and to prevent their falling out, children are not snugly held in these prior art apparatuses. With carrying frames or infant-carrying packs, all the limbs of the children typically hang out of the apparatus. In the case of a carrying frame, the child is often held around the crotch area, but otherwise free to move back and forth and side-to-side in the frame.
Therefore, there exists a problem in that the child in a prior art carrying apparatus is not snugly held. For children in the infant stages especially, a child in a prior art carrying apparatus may not experience the full benefit of being closely held by its parent, such as when the child is held in its parent's arms. For the parent, if the child is in carrying basket, he/she must take the child out of the basket in order to closely hold the child. If the child is in either the carrying frame or the infant-carrying pack, and being carried on the parent's back, here also the parent must remove the child form the apparatus in order to hold the child close.
Consequently, there exists a need in the industry for an infant/toddler carrying apparatus wherein the problem of the prior art devices as described above can be avoided.